Bray Wyatt says that while winning the WWE Championship was a major accomplishment for him, his body is ready for another fifteen years of accomplishments.

Bray says he wants to be the next Rock.

Bray had no idea he was the first member of his wrestling family to win a World Championship until Paul Heyman told him.

Bray says the Wyatt Family will continue forever.

Sam addresses the JBL-Mauro Ranallo controversy.

Sam discusses the Superstar Shakeup and analyzes each superstars’ potential at their new homes.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Plugs

01:24 – Introduction

05:13 – Bray Wyatt Interview

30:35 – Post-Interview Comments

44:10 – State of Wrestling

1:01:00 – Closing Plugs

THE WHOLE F’N SHOW:

1:24 – Introduction

Howard Finkel introduces the show. Sam thanked Howard Finkel for his introductions during WrestleMania weekend. He also thanks listeners for their positive comments regarding his eulogy for Undertaker on the previous week’s episode and for his interview with AJ Lee which can now be seen on The Jim and Sam Show YouTube channel. Sam says his interview with Bray Wyatt this year is much different than last year: Bray was WWE Champion getting ready to head into WrestleMania 33 whereas Bray was not in a good place before WrestleMania 32. He also notes this interview is before Bray lost the title to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. Coming up after the interview, Sam will discuss the Superstar Shakeup and his observations from the live crowd at the Raw show Sam attended this past week at the new Nassau Coliseum.

5:13 – Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast Interview

Sam: Acknowledges he spent a lot of time complaining about Bray not winning more matches and now here was Bray heading to WrestleMania 33 as WWE Champion.

Bray: Many people expected it a long time ago, as did he. It was everything he wanted to obtain while in WWE. It was a huge deal for him. He has a lot of things yet to accomplish and his body is ready to roll for another fifteen years. He was in a very bad place during WrestleMania 32. He was beat up emotionally and physically. Bray remembers doing the media appearances last year where everyone said “You wrestled Undertaker last year. Cena the year before that. But you don’t have a match on this year’s card. Is it over for Bray?” He had to be patient. He said the energy that Rock brings is amazing, but he doesn’t want to be the guy who gets beat up by The Rock. He wants TO BE The Rock. Bray says maybe he’ll be the WWE Champion until next WrestleMania where he’ll face The Rock.

Sam: What was the moment winning the WWE Championship like?

Bray: He doesn’t remember the exact moment when he won the match at this year’s Elimination Chamber, but he remembers holding up the belt and everyone looking at him and applauding.

Sam: Asks Bray about his babyface reaction when he is such an evil character and refers to cult symbolism with the dark character.

Bray: He can only be himself in the ring, which is a violent human being. He’s a Christian and he believes in God. He believes in miracles that other people wouldn’t. He says he doesn’t know what he is, only that he’s not like you.

Sam: With all the craziness of WrestleMania week, did Bray have time to soak it all in (maaaaannnn) that he’s the champion defending the title at WrestleMania?

Bray: It’s all he can think about. It’s a very big deal to him. He has a legacy to cement. He says Randy had his time. Now it’s his time. He’s ready to gamble his life out in the ring. That’s who he is and this is what he’s supposed to be doing. As for future opponents to challenge him for his WWE Championship, Bray mentions Seth Rollins, A.J. Styles, and Dean Ambrose. Bray says he and Dean create great chaos together. If he’s ever up against a performer who’s just phoning it in, he can bring them out of it within the ring with creativity which often helps other performers he’s in the ring with.

Sam: Brings up the comparisons between the Bray Wyatt character and the Undertaker character.

Bray: To be compared to The Undertaker is unbelievable, but if you put them side by side, their ring work is not similar. He says they are completely different although similar with the darkness element.

Sam: What did he like about pro wrestling when he was growing up?

Bray: The storytelling. He’s always been a fan of horror films. He likes the feeling of the thrill. He’s always been attached to these horror movies so they influenced who he liked in pro wrestling. He mentions Papa Shango putting a voodoo curse on the Ultimate Warrior causing Warrior to vomit nasty black ooze (in mid-1992). Bray says this kind of stuff stuck with him.

Sam: Does Bray take his character seriously?

Bray: People can try to falsify him but this is who he is, but this is real to him. He says he is Bray and Bray is him. He says his WrestleMania 31 entrance against Undertaker was really cool, but his WrestleMania 32 entrance was probably the best with all the people and The Rock. While he was down at the time, he says if he was never down he could never get back up. He thrives on those times because when he’s thrown in the dirt, he can’t wait to get back up. He doesn’t know if anything will ever top his WrestleMania 32 moment as a visual but his most important entrance was at WrestleMania 30 because it was his first one. He wants to leave a legacy behind for everyone whoever loved him. He says those trying times are what brings him his creative moments that he needs to get to the next level. He knows he could look different in a year. He doesn’t know how. It’s just how a character develops over time naturally. No planning. He says five years ago, he never knew he’d have dreadlocks or be wearing the wild clothes he wears today.

Sam: Does Bray travel with the WWE Championship?

Bray: It never leaves his side. He says sometimes airport security will want to take it out of his carry-on bag and hold it but he doesn’t allow them because it’s very prestigious to him.

Sam: Discusses the fan backlash against the new mats inside the new Elimination Chamber. Sam says the mats put extra years on WWE Superstars’ lives.

Bray: The new mats are not comfortable like people think. He says the structure is horrible. He had bruises and cuts from his match. Pain arrives about 30-40 minutes after a match. He says this one was worth it. After he won the WWE Championship, he never knew that everyone in his family who were in the business never held a world championship until Paul Heyman told him. Paul Heyman called him after he won the WWE Championship and congratulated him on being the first in his family to win a world championship. (Rock Note: That includes Barry Windham, Mike Rotunda, Blackjack Mulligan, Kendell Windham…although brother Bo Dallas was NXT Champion at one time but never a World Champion)

Sam: Will Bray be solo from here on out or will we see the Wyatt family or another faction in the future?

Bray: It’ll be in and out forever. He says the Wyatt family will always be brothers and he’ll always be there. He says even Braun Strowman will be back. He taught Braun how to tie his shoes.

End of interview.

30:35 –Sam Roberts Post Interview

Sam makes a quick comment about feeling bad because he thinks the Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton match at WrestleMania 33 was a weak point of the show. He says the story didn’t have time to play out. The ending left a lot to desire. He wants to see Bray Wyatt succeed. He’s optimistic about Bray’s move to Raw however.

Sam addresses the JBL-Mauro Ranallo bullying scandal. He brings up Ranallo’s bipolar and how Ranallo hasn’t been on WWE television since March 7th of this year. Mentions how many people are bringing up JBL’s appearance on Bring It to the Table where he mocks Ranallo for winning the Wrestling Observer’s Best Announcer Award. Sam acknowledges that cultures are much different today than they were 15 years ago. The difference is that hazing incidents were normal back then but are not as acceptable today because people have been educated about bullying’s consequences. With that said, however, Sam says JBL’s appearance on Bring It to the Table was a heel performance just like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan working heel to Gorilla Monsoon’s face or Jerry The King Lawler’s heel to Vince McMahon’s face. Sam maintains that nobody knows what happened behind the scenes between JBL and Ranallo, if anything happened at all. Until we know what happened behind the scenes, everything is speculation. He says every time he’s been at a WWE show or function, he’s been treated like family, even by JBL himself. He sends open invitations to both JBL and Mauro Ranallo to discuss the issue on the show.

44:10 –Sam Roberts State of Wrestling

Sam congratulates Dean Ambrose and Renee Young on their marriage. He says it’s ironic since they were split up in the Superstar Shakeup.

Sam believes the lower tier guys from Smackdown Live who moved to Raw run the risk of not being on TV anymore, but the Raw superstars that went to Smackdown Live gives them a lot more potential.

Smackdown Live Superstar Shakeup.

Jinder Mahal. Sam says he has a great shot in the trade. He finds it funny that Rob Gronkowski (The Gronk) was on Smackdown Live only two weeks after appearing at WrestleMania 33. Is The Gronk following Mahal everywhere? Sam suggests Gronk should be at every WWE show during his off-season with the NFL. Gronk could be the next WWE Super Fan in the front row like Vladimir or the bowl cut kid from the 1990s or the Faith No More Guy. Sam talks about Jinder Mahal’s appearance on Talking Smack where Mahal says he’s improved and wants to win a championship. Sam suggests Mahal could win the Smackdown Tag Team Championship with Sin Cara, another superstar just acquired by Smackdown Live. Sin Cara’s move to Smackdown Live doesn’t do anything for Sin Cara so it makes sense to team them up, similar to Heath Slater and Rhyno. He even mentions Mahal and Sin Cara could be the 2-man band playing air guitar since Mahal was in the 3-Man Band with Slater (now on Raw) and the returning Drew McIntyre (now on NXT). He thinks a number one contenders match between the team of Mahal and Sin Cara versus the Shining Stars, now on Smackdown Live themselves, would be a good move.

Shining Stars/The New Day/Smackdown Live Tag Team Division. Sam puts over Primo from the Shining Stars. Says he’s really good in the ring and deserves better. He talks about the Shining Stars gimmick and how it doesn’t really work if they keep it on Smackdown Live. He says bad news for Shining Stars. The New Day is coming to Smackdown Live and will most likely run through the tag teams and win the titles. Sam recommends booking Shining Stars vs. Mahal and Sin Cara in a number one contender match. Sin Cara and Mahal go over and go on to defeat the Usos for tag team championships. Then New Day comes along and wins the tag team championships off Mahal and Sin Cara. This eventually leads to a Mahal vs. Sin Cara feud, a long title run for The New Day, and a forgotten American Alpha on the sidelines. New Day is the merchandise sellers and that’s bad news for American Alpha’s place on the Smackdown Live roster.

Smackdown Women’s Division. Tamina will benefit from the trade. Charlotte will be huge on Smackdown since she’s the top female superstar in the business. Sam notes the current era is different from the women’s division era during Trish Stratus’s time which consisted of T&A and bra/panties matches. Charlotte is the first female pure athlete in the business. She’s unmatched right now. Shane McMahon was right about Charlotte being the biggest signing. While Kevin Owens is a big deal, Charlotte is even bigger. He says Charlotte, AJ Styles, and the New Day will be Smackdown Live’s biggest draws moving forward.

Shinsuke Nakamura. Sam believes they were going to do a program with Miz and Nakamura but then decided to trade Miz and Maryse to Raw. So now Ziggler has taken Miz’s place. Ziggler is a suitable replacement, although Sam would prefer seeing Miz vs. Nakamura. He says since it’ll be six weeks until the next Smackdown PPV, we should see a match between Ziggler and Nakamura before then on Smackdown Live. Says Nakamura is in a position to succeed.

Sami Zayn. Sam says Sami is also in a position to succeed on Smackdown Live. He praises the triple threat match for number one contender for the United States Championship between Styles, Corbin, and Zayn on the most recent episode of Smackdown Live. He said it gives much more credibility to the United States Championship. He says AJ Styles will be the top babyface of the brand, but Zayn will be one of the top good guys on Smackdown Live as well.

Rusev/Lana. Sam says the move gives Rusev the potential to go back to the powerhouse he once was when he started. He thought it was interesting that both Rusev and Lana were shaken up separately unlike Miz and Maryse who came over to Raw together. Lana is completely repackaged doing a burlesque gimmick. Sam says the accent will probably disappear as part of the new Lana.

Kevin Owens. He brought United States Championship to Smackdown Live. Sam says this proves the Shakeup was not planned ahead in advance because of the current card at the Payback PPV that’s scheduled. He believes Owens will win retain against Jericho at Payback. Sam would book A.J. to lose to Owens, perhaps through disqualification, since AJ is going to be in the WWE Championship picture rather the United States Championship. He believes that will be reserved for Shinsuke Nakamura in the near future. He also thinks Orton could face Corbin which could set up a scenario where A.J. Styles could win the championship again.

Sam said the Superstar Shakeup was lacking in presentation. He knows it’s not a draft, but he would’ve had Vince McMahon on both shows during the Superstar Shakeup since it wasn’t about draft trades but about Vince McMahon pulling the strings and shaking things up based on his decisions.

Sam was at the Raw show during the Superstar Shakeup. Sam thought it was done perfectly the first time when The Drifter Elias Samson walked through the crowd during the Charlotte and Nia Jax match. He thought the moment when he walked across the Raw stage and the announcers acknowledged it wasn’t as effective.

Sam gives credit to the audience at Nassau Coliseum. Says they made the show so much better. During the Roman Reigns and Strowman segment, Braun received the biggest pop of the night. The live crowd loved every time he showed up. He said the organic chant of “You deserve it!” from the crowd when Strowman tipped Roman over on the stretcher was perfect. When Braun tipped over the ambulance, the crowd started chanting “Thank you Strowman!” He loved it.

When T.J. Perkins won against Austin Aries, Sam turned to Peter Rosenburg, who was standing next to him during the show, and said “they need to turn T.J. Perkins heel right now.” Sam then turned his head back to the ring and saw Perkins jump Aries after the match cementing his heel turn.

Raw Superstar Shakeup.

Curt Hawkins. Sam was glad he had a segment on Raw. He appreciates Hawkins’ philosophy, which is no matter what your role is, if you’re on the show, that’s better than not being on the show. It’ll freshen things up watching new guys beat up Hawkins on Raw every week.

Heath Slater and Rhyno/Apollo Crews. He sees this move as a negative for all of them. Sam doesn’t see a lot happening for them on Raw. Smackdown Live was safer for them. All three guys are talented but Sam’s not certain about their futures on Raw. He doesn’t see where they fit in. He wouldn’t be surprised if Slater and Rhyno split soon.

Kalisto. A good pick for Raw. Sam says Kalisto being moved to the Cruiserweight Division is the reason he was brought over to Raw so he could be one of the 205 Live guys. It’s a good fit.

Alexa Bliss. She will excel on Raw. With Charlotte gone, Alexa Bliss has huge potential to win the Raw Women’s Championship. She’s talented and young with years ahead of her. While Alexa is a heel now, Sam believes she’ll become a face because she’s so over with the fans. Sam believes she will go down as one of the most popular female superstars of all time.

Mickie James. Good addition. She’ll add a lot to Raw.

Dean Ambrose. Now the Intercontinental Title is on Raw. Sam says Raw has never been a great place to add value to secondary championships, but they need to with this one because their Universal Champion isn’t on Raw each week. He says we’ll probably see Ambrose vs. Miz, but unfortunately, it’s the same thing we’ve seen on Smackdown Live so it’s not adding anything new. He’d love to see Ambrose vs. Samoa Joe. Plus now you have all three members of The Shield on the Raw roster. However, Sam says we are not going to see a Shield reunion anytime soon because Roman Reigns is on a different planet now with his beating Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 and his certain role in the Universal Championship picture.

Bray Wyatt. Sam’s very interested in a Balor and Wyatt face off. Plus, now Broken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt are now on the same brand. Back to Balor and Wyatt. Sam says the elaborate entrances from both would be special to watch. Sam side notes the match between Finn Balor and Jinder Mahal on Raw was brutal. Mahal wasn’t playing around and he wonders what Finn did to piss off Mahal. Another Sam side note: he says he’d like to see Ambrose turn on Rollins and have an Ambrose vs. Rollins match or matches for the Intercontinental Championship.

Miz and Maryse. Sam was bummed to see them traded to Raw. He was looking forward to a summer of Miz vs. Styles for the WWE Championship. This move takes Miz off any world title picture when you consider the Universal Championship. He doesn’t want to see Miz as Intercontinental Champion again since we’ve already seen it many times. He doesn’t know where Miz will fit on Raw. He wishes he stayed on Smackdown where he could have been WWE Champion again.

End of show.

ROCK SAYS…

7/10. The interview had some interesting revelations such as Paul Heyman’s phone call to Bray Wyatt, Wyatt’s love for horror films, and his speculations at what kind of run he would have as WWE Champion. At first I thought it would be a bummer for Bray Wyatt fans. The interview was while Wyatt was WWE Champion. He held the WWE Championship for just under 2 months before losing it to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33. Hearing Bray talk about his potential future opponents to face for the championship, how Orton had his time already, how he wanted to be the next Rock or even face the Rock at WrestleMania…while knowing the end result could have been a depressing listen for Wyatt fans. However, his discussion of how he gets back up and works even harder when he’s down in the dirt and how he has much more to accomplish helped rectify that negativity. Now we have to wonder about his role on Raw where the top prize is going to be limited to three superstars for a very long time.

While I agree with most of Sam’s observations from the Superstar Shakeup, most notably his Raw outlook, I thought his idea of bringing the 3-Man Band back together (Slater, Mahal, and McIntyre) was awful. I thought his idea of making Mahal and Sin Cara a 2-Man Band didn’t make sense considering it was based on a Health Slater gimmick. Hopefully he was being sarcastic. I think Slater, Mahal, and most definitely McIntyre have proven themselves far better than a failed gimmick over the past couple of years since then.

ABOUT ROCK MANORRock Manor has been a professional wrestling fan since 1987 and has a special interest in its rich history. He is the producer of Manor House: The Podcast, a collection of dark stories presented with a full audio drama production. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene says “It’s like Tales From The Crypt. It’s really f***ing cool.” You can listen to the podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher Radio and other podcast platforms. Rock Manor has also been a featured performer on podcasts such as The NoSleep Podcast, Pseudopod, Tales To Terrify, and StarshipSofa. Visit https://www.manorhouseshow.com/ for more details.

Notsam Podcast – Episode 229: Jake “The Snake” Roberts Release Date: March 14th, 2019 Recap By: James Hayes DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD From New York, Sam welcomes you to the show! What a great time [...]